The Last Days of John Lennon

All good. very good product.

With a gripping and intriguing title "The Last Days of John Lennon" James Patterson adds to a biography of books about the most renowned bands in musical history The Beatles and one of the most prolific songwriters to have sprung from the strand of talent John Lennon. But was unique of this biography is interspersed within the pages, news that was heard around the world of the death of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. For readers that may not have read of the details behind the headlines may find the book interesting.Patterson writes the book similar to historical fiction. However, a large portion of the contents is non-fiction. The events leading up to Lennon's death is only a small portion and Patterson uses flashbacks of past and present leading up to the climax. If one has not yet read the most recent or previous biographies of The Beatles or Lennon will find this book has one needs to understanding the history of each; the first 100 pages is the band's history from their childhood and rise to prominence after playing many a hard day's night in Hamburg, Germany, finally getting their break with EMI Studios and Parlophone Records and giving their farewell performance at the Cavern Club. And then everything changes almost overnight in late 1963 and then the following year February 7, 1964 when The Beatles arrive in New York City and perform on the Ed Sullivan Show -- the rest is history, Beatlemania. This part of Lennon's history with the band never gets old and Patterson retells so vividly as well as proceeding periods up to the band's disbandment in 1970; one of the fine details years later, who knew that Lennon on vacation with May Pang and son Julian in Florida would officially and literally sign off at a Disney World's Polynesian Village resort December 1974. Patterson takes a quote from May Pang, which she comments, "Even though they all felt they had to break up to get to the next level of their musical careers John had started this band that changed the world. It changed pop culture. It changed how we live and how we dress. And he knew that. So when he sat down to sign, he knew that this was it. His was the last signature. As he had started the group, he was the one to end it" (Kindle 212).Upon reading the last chapter of the book, one may say that Patterson puts his distinct quality of fiction in place amidst the exceptional detail. Indeed, there are many books written about The Beatles and John Lennon that have recently been published in the past decade to 30 years that readers may refer to such as one by Beatles biographer Bob Spitz and another that stirred debates from Lennon fans by Albert Goldman. But after reading this book, especially the last 100 pages this book bears similarities to another book by John Blake "All You Needed Was Love, Beatles After The Beatles" that was published shortly after Lennon's passing. But there is no doubt this book revisits the time and place of the most memorable moments of the band and Lennon's history.

In 1964, like many American families at the time, dinnertime was family time and distractions like television were not allowed. (Not long before, in 1943, the CEO of IBM, Thomas Watson, famously predicted that there would be a worldwide demand for about five computers and most people agreed with him. Steve Jobs himself was still in junior high.) The only exception to the dinnertime rule was Sunday night when we ate hamburgers and drank homemade milk shakes in the family room while watching the family fare that dominated Sunday night television at the time.So at the age of nine I recall with vivid clarity the night the Beatles walked onto the stage of the Ed Sullivan show to be introduced to America. Their hair was long for the era but neatly trimmed and clean and they actually wore suits with ties. They were professional showmen, for sure, but the real show was the audience – teenage girls, mostly, screaming, crying, jumping up and down, so overtaken with emotion that The Bard himself would have been hard pressed to describe the buzz.What I didn’t appreciate at the time was how young the four lads from Liverpool actually were or how much work and effort they had put into getting where they were. (Decca Records rejected them noting that “Groups of four guitarists are on the way out.”) I also didn’t appreciate how many previous failures they had faced or how many people had played a role in getting them to where they were. (According to the book they were told to ditch the leather and buy the suits and to stop smoking on stage.)They shaped a generation, for sure, but as this book so clearly and concisely points out, they created a bridge between two generations of people and musicians, from Little Richard to Led Zeppelin. And navigating a cultural and generational cusp like that is probably the hardest feat of all when it comes to the world of music and entertainment. Not many artists can pull it off.They had the wind and the sun at their backs, and more than a little serendipity fell on their shoulders, but they clearly had talent and an incredible work ethic. And the one thing I did learn from this book is that while artistry takes creative talent, there is a “science” to it all that only the truly creative can master through a lot of hard work.It is a fascinating personal story, very well written, that I thought did justice to all facets of the story. It’s not a fluff piece. But it’s not a tell-all either. And while some may question giving Mark Chapman any print time at all I think the story would be incomplete without some background.Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Lennon’s story is how little security he surrounded himself with. That wouldn’t happen today and NYC was a rough place at the time. And that, along with the reality of how many of the musical geniuses of the era knew each other and spent time together, says something about how far we have extended the limitations of fame inherent in fame itself. Even Lennon, I suspect, would be dismayed and disheartened at the life he would be forced to live today just 40 years after his death.All told, a very pleasant and insightful read about a true musical genius.

This is the first book I’ve read by James Patterson. Based off of this, I will say his writing is pretty terrible. Short childlike construction of sentences. Zero stylistic sensibility as an author. But the material itself (lucky for him) transcends once you get past the first couple of chapters and get used to the poor writing. It’s hard not to get enveloped in the world of John Lennon and the nostalgia of The Beatles. I am 39 and Lennon was killed before I was born, but I feel connected to all of the Beatles thanks to my parents. This book has a lot of the legend that is familiar (their days perfecting their craft through repetition in Hamburg, their eventual weary of touring, etc) but it also uncovers a lot that at least I was unaware (I had no idea Lennon and McCartney were the originators of diss tracks, feuding with each other using songs like “How Do You Sleep?”). I also appreciated a balanced view of Yoko (beyond the woman who broke i the Beatles), and how she was critical is operating as a stabilizing force for John Lennon. Finally, even though we know how this sad story goes, it still hurts so deeply when we get to the ending. It was a unique perspective that Patterson takes to volley back and forth between narrating the rise and breakup of the Beatles and the inner sanctum of John Lennon’s post-Beatles world with a sad, lonely, psychologically unstable man like Mark Chapman.Overall, give the first few chapter an adjusting grace period, to acclimate to the truly terrible writing style (intentional or not), and allow yourself to sink into the past for truly remarkable figures in music history.

John Lennon was a genius. His songs will be his tribute and will live on for millennia. "Imagine" is a classic and my favorite song.

This a a great and interesting read as you would expect from James Patterson

love the story. book came fast after release date

Good quick read for John Lennon fans

Loved reading it

I loved everything about this book!